With spring coming into effect, comes warmer weather and precautions to take when outdoors.
Ticks are small bugs that bite and feed on the blood of humans and animals . Ticks can also sometimes transmit disease. That’s why it’s important to take precautions to help prevent the risk of illness that could come from tick bites.
“To prevent tick bites, you need to walk on clear trails, and when in tall grass or wooden areas, you need to cover up you body with longer sleeves, pants , hats, and light colour clothing.” says Dr. Fatemeh Sabet, medical health officer of Interior Health.
One of the most important ways to reduce the risk of tick illness, is to do a skin check on yourself after participating in outdoor activities.
If you find a tick on yourself, a family member or pet, wear gloves when removing it and be careful not to crush the tick, as this could cause it to inject its stomach contents into your skin.